, PLEASE USE THIS DOCUMENT AS A GUIDE ONLY
QUESTION 1
A) Write a short introduction (approximately 5 typed sentences) in which you outline how your
essay will discuss the theoretical concepts involved in analysing the written text of play and how
various elements, for example characters, objects and events are represented on stage.
This essay will discuss the theoretical concepts involved in analysing the written text of a play by
focusing on what Marisa Keuris terms the "performance orientation" of dramatic literature – the
understanding that a play is not merely a literary object to be read, but a blueprint for a live
performance (Keuris 1996: 3). The analysis will explore how various elements, such as characters,
objects, and events, are represented on stage through the interplay of dialogue, didascalia (stage
directions), and the spatial and temporal dimensions of theatrical production (Keuris 1996: 45-47).
Furthermore, the essay will examine how theoretical frameworks, including Weimann's concepts of
locus and platea, provide tools for understanding the transformation of written text into embodied
performance (Weimann 2000: 179). By applying these concepts to a selected play, this discussion
will demonstrate that the full meaning of a dramatic text is realised only when it is considered as a
performative document intended for an audience (Keuris 1996: 12).
B) What is the performance orientation of a written dramatic text, and how is the text converted
into a performance? Use a play of your choice to illustrate how theoretical concepts can be used
to analyse a play.
The "performance orientation" of a written dramatic text refers to the fundamental understanding that
a play is composed not primarily for private reading, but for public performance. As Keuris explains
in The Play: A Manual, this orientation means that every element of the written text—from character
dialogue to stage directions—functions as an instruction for theatrical realisation (Keuris 1996: 3-5).
Unlike a novel, which achieves its full aesthetic existence on the page, a play exists in a state of
potentiality until it is activated by performers, directors, and designers before an audience (Keuris
1996: 8). Keuris identifies key components of this orientation, including dramatic characters, time
and space, dramatic action and structure, dialogue and didascalia, and the reception of the play
(Keuris 1996: 23-28). The performance orientation thus acknowledges drama as a collaborative and
performing art, where playwrights, directors, actors, stage managers, and technicians unite to bring
the text to life (Keuris 1996: 14).
The conversion of a written text into a performance involves a multi-stage process of interpretation
and embodiment. This process begins with the dramaturgical analysis of the script, wherein the
structural elements—acts, scenes, character arcs, and plot points—are mapped onto potential stage
action (Keuris 1996: 56-58). Subsequently, the director and design team translate the text's spatial
and temporal indications into physical stage environments, lighting cues, and soundscapes (Keuris
1996: 67). Actors then convert dialogue into embodied speech, gesture, and movement, making
interpretive choices about subtext, intention, and emotional expression (Keuris 1996: 89-91). As
Weimann argues, this conversion process is not merely mechanical but creative, as performers draw
on established theatrical traditions and their own interpretive authority to give voice to the author's
pen (Weimann 2000: 12-15).
QUESTION 1
A) Write a short introduction (approximately 5 typed sentences) in which you outline how your
essay will discuss the theoretical concepts involved in analysing the written text of play and how
various elements, for example characters, objects and events are represented on stage.
This essay will discuss the theoretical concepts involved in analysing the written text of a play by
focusing on what Marisa Keuris terms the "performance orientation" of dramatic literature – the
understanding that a play is not merely a literary object to be read, but a blueprint for a live
performance (Keuris 1996: 3). The analysis will explore how various elements, such as characters,
objects, and events, are represented on stage through the interplay of dialogue, didascalia (stage
directions), and the spatial and temporal dimensions of theatrical production (Keuris 1996: 45-47).
Furthermore, the essay will examine how theoretical frameworks, including Weimann's concepts of
locus and platea, provide tools for understanding the transformation of written text into embodied
performance (Weimann 2000: 179). By applying these concepts to a selected play, this discussion
will demonstrate that the full meaning of a dramatic text is realised only when it is considered as a
performative document intended for an audience (Keuris 1996: 12).
B) What is the performance orientation of a written dramatic text, and how is the text converted
into a performance? Use a play of your choice to illustrate how theoretical concepts can be used
to analyse a play.
The "performance orientation" of a written dramatic text refers to the fundamental understanding that
a play is composed not primarily for private reading, but for public performance. As Keuris explains
in The Play: A Manual, this orientation means that every element of the written text—from character
dialogue to stage directions—functions as an instruction for theatrical realisation (Keuris 1996: 3-5).
Unlike a novel, which achieves its full aesthetic existence on the page, a play exists in a state of
potentiality until it is activated by performers, directors, and designers before an audience (Keuris
1996: 8). Keuris identifies key components of this orientation, including dramatic characters, time
and space, dramatic action and structure, dialogue and didascalia, and the reception of the play
(Keuris 1996: 23-28). The performance orientation thus acknowledges drama as a collaborative and
performing art, where playwrights, directors, actors, stage managers, and technicians unite to bring
the text to life (Keuris 1996: 14).
The conversion of a written text into a performance involves a multi-stage process of interpretation
and embodiment. This process begins with the dramaturgical analysis of the script, wherein the
structural elements—acts, scenes, character arcs, and plot points—are mapped onto potential stage
action (Keuris 1996: 56-58). Subsequently, the director and design team translate the text's spatial
and temporal indications into physical stage environments, lighting cues, and soundscapes (Keuris
1996: 67). Actors then convert dialogue into embodied speech, gesture, and movement, making
interpretive choices about subtext, intention, and emotional expression (Keuris 1996: 89-91). As
Weimann argues, this conversion process is not merely mechanical but creative, as performers draw
on established theatrical traditions and their own interpretive authority to give voice to the author's
pen (Weimann 2000: 12-15).
